Meta

Stephan Brandt thought his home insurance company was shortchanging him. After a major fire at his income property, the insurer applied a 35 per cent depreciation rate to his claim on both materials and labour.

Fighting back against large companies can be rewarding. But complaining loudly in a public forum can also lead to corporate retribution. The trick is to find the balance between private success and public recrimination.

My new book, Fight Back, tries to help consumers find their voices when they perceive an injustice. Here are a few links to media interviews I’ve done and events yet to come.

Diane Lowe is paying thousands more in interest on her mortgage, all because she didn’t pay a few cents on a credit card she had already cancelled.

As I reported last month, Capital One reported an outstanding balance on a Hudson’s Bay credit card to Equifax Canada. It was only a few cents, but it wasn’t paid.

As a result, Diane Lowe couldn’t get the mortgage she wanted on her new house. Nor could she get a line of credit to pay a deposit to the builder.

She learned about her blemished credit, as many people do, when applying for financing. The bank pulled the rug from under her, forcing her to find another lender in a hurry.

Many readers felt the credit reporting system needed reform. Why send damaging information to a credit bureau before trying to clear things up with the customer? Some people reported having similar experiences with the Bay. See their comments below.

“Hi Ellen,” she said. “I understand you reached out to us on Friday for comment regarding an issue we had with customers who placed an order for an LG 42â€ LED TV that we had on sale on the Newegg.ca site.

“Below is our statement about the situation.”

This situation arose when Newegg was caught off guard by the unusually high volume of orders that this offer generated.

To compound the situation, due to holiday closures at our suppliersâ€™ businesses, we were initially unable to secure sufficient inventory to fulfill orders for the LG 42″ LED TV.

Orders for the TV were subsequently voided and customers were refunded their original form of payment.

Since then, we have been diligently working to attempt to fulfill these original orders or provide customers with a reasonable accommodation.

As a result of our efforts, we were able to secure a very limited quantity of the LG 42″ LED TV. We are now contacting customers in order, based on the date and time that their order was placed, to offer them a chance to purchase the TV at the previously advertised sale price of $400.

Because we have procured a very limited supply of the TV, orders will be filled on a first come – first served basis until the supply has been exhausted.

We are also offering two additional options to the customers affected by this issue.

Customers can choose to purchase a comparable LG 42″ LCD TV for $349.99. This product does not have the 3D capability of the original product, but weâ€™re offering it at a deeply discounted price to offset the difference.

Alternatively, if the customer prefers not to purchase either TV option, as a gesture of apology, we are offering a $100 Newegg Gift Card that may be used on any order in the future.

Newegg remains committed to offering a superior shopping experience and outstanding customer service to all of our customers.

We sincerely hope that all those customers who were affected by this issue will be satisfied with the steps we have taken to remedy the situation.

So, if you’re a customer, please let me know what you think of this improved offer. Now I have a media contact there, I can also transmit your comments and requests.

I know it’s frustrating to deal with a company that provides no easy access and deletes Facebook posts if they’re critical of corporate practices.